Volunteers 'depave' Portland school blacktop as part of greener goal

Beth Nakamura/The OregonianVolunteers muscle heavy segments of pavement to be broken up and recycled today at Vestal School in Northeast Portland. The work party, organized by Depave, started the clearing of 15,000 square feet of pavement, which will make room for a community garden and an outdoor learning lab for the K-8 school.

There are easier ways to break a slab of pavement, but nothing quite as satisfying as prying it up, wrestling it onto its edge and letting it crash to the ground.

More than 70 volunteers performed that back-breaking dance Saturday, as they heaved, slammed and sledgehammered the blacktop at Vestal School on Northeast 82nd Avenue. But the brutal job was more like a block party. Stiltwalkers with frog masks cheered on the dusty workers as they lifted pavement, uncovering dirt that one day will be lush gardens in a Montavilla neighborhood with too few green spaces.

Removing 15,000 square feet of a tired, old schoolyard was the most ambitious project so far for Depave, a year-old Portland-based nonprofit whose motto -- Pavement to Paradise -- expresses the organization's goals to turn unused paved areas into garden spots and green retreats for the community.

Depave's objective is a healthier city. Rainwater runs off pavement, collects pollution and flows into stormwater drains -- and sometimes right into streams or the Willamette River. But soil absorbs and filters water.

With its intentionally low-tech approach, Depave also aims to create community.

"We could use heavy equipment and that would generally be easier," said Colin Bohannan, a Depave member. "But these are going to be community areas. It gives people ownership.

"You're not just giving a mark of approval, but having ownership over the project -- this place, this garden."

Beth Nakamura/The OregonianMore than 70 volunteers worked today at Vestal School in Northeast Portland, removing pavement to make way for a community garden and outdoor learning lab. Project organizer Depave works to turn unused paved areas back to healthy soil, which absorbs and filters rainwater and provides community space. (Click on photo to see larger image.)

Depave, which targets urban areas, completed projects at Mosi Architecture and the Creative Science School earlier this summer. Its next depaving is Aug. 29 at the Kailash Ecovillage in Southeast Portland, and at least two more projects are planned.

The Vestal schoolyard had needed help for a long time. It was entirely paved. Kids had nowhere to sit. There were no trees for shade.

Last year, teacher Chad Honi helped secure grants to turn some of the paved area into a grass field with benches. A parent volunteered the backhoe work. Trees and native plants were planted around the area.

But that still left 15,000 square feet of unfriendly gray.

"It's an unpleasant environment for human beings," said volunteer Karla Betts of Northeast Portland as she paused with a wheelbarrow. "It's a huge project. It's going to be amazing to see this turn into a garden."

Two-thirds of the space will become a new Portland Community Garden. The rest will be the school's outdoor learning lab, designed by students. For first-grade teacher Sue Ward-McCurdy, the garden will mean flowers for the butterfly pupas her class raises each year -- instead of having to buy plants at a nursery.

"And seeds are so exciting for kids," she said.

Shannon Lopez and Emily Randel learned about the project on the Hands On Greater Portland Web site. On Saturday, the friends from Gresham helped break up thick plates of asphalt.

The women were grimy and smiling.

"We're having a good time," Lopez said.

Depave member Scott Baumberger raised a heavy metal tamper, the kind used in construction, and slammed its pointed end into a block of concrete.

"It makes you feel you're a bigger part of it," he said. "We're turning this into a community asset."

The volunteers filled eight big dumpsters by lunchtime. The pavement will be recycled.

A lot of dirt was freed by the end of the day. But a lot of pavement remained. Depave will return to the site with a backhoe to finish the cleanup.

Organizers hope the volunteers will take home more than tired muscles.

"We want to inspire people to go home and say, 'I can take out this walkway. I can take out this driveway,'" site manager Drew Swayne said.